Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has delivered the club’s first trophy in six years, but has come in for criticism after back-to-back defeats threatened to derail their season

Richard Keys has taken aim at Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, questioning whether the club are really in a “better place” under the Dutchman.

Ten Hag led United to Carabao Cup glory in February, ending a six-year wait for silverware. He has also taken the Red Devils to the FA Cup final, while nine points from the final four games will ensure a top-four spot and Champions League football, after they finished well off the pace last term.

After a big-spending summer, though, Keys has argued this should be the bare minimum. After back-to-back defeats, both by a single goal against Brighton and then West Ham, nothing is certain when it comes to the Premier League table.

“Ten Hag spent a record £220m last summer – more than United have ever spent in one window – to take them precisely…..nowhere,” Keys wrote.

“And he’s run out of excuses. There’s only so many times you can blame players for being ‘unprofessional’, or for not ‘sticking to the game plan’. That talk all wears a bit thin in a dressing room after a while.”

Keys all but dismissed United’s chances of beating Manchester City at Wembley in June, leaving only the top-four carrot. “Ten Hag MUST deliver CL football. Nothing else will do,” he added.

“If he does – ok – he buys himself another season. If he doesn’t – a League Cup win won’t be enough from this campaign. There was a time when United fans were embarrassed to win that trophy. How times have changed.”

Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd are coming off back-to-back defeats ( Image: Getty Images)

Those successive losses against Brighton and West Ham leave United just one point clear of fifth-place side Liverpool, though they have a game in hand. Ten Hag’s men can also no longer secure Champions League qualification with a Europa League win, having fallen to Sevilla at the quarter-final stage.

Players have now been given two days off, with Ten Hag hoping to breathe new energy into his squad before four vital league games. Three of United’s remaining four fixtures are at Old Trafford, beginning with a meeting with Wolves on May 13.

“It’s the first time since Christmas that those players have a full week,” Ten Hag told reporters after the loss at the London Stadium. “We have to reset, reload, get the energy back and keep going.

“But tiredness is in your head. If you want, if you have the willingness, you can take it. It’s now up to the players, me and the coaching staff to be together, get the willingness in and the belief that we can take it and this team has it.”